Snow for non-SAS

[Bruno]

Anybody test a (Base) non-SaS, with auto, in the snow?

Interested to hear how it performs.
Guessing Slippery Mode is best.
Mud/Rut and Sand Modes for off road snow....
Do Lockers help in the snow??
Worried I screwed up by not going SaS - for when I need to go to the snow. Becasue no lockers.

**All the snow performance reviews I see are for SaS equipped Broncos.
THANKS!

https://thebronconation.com/winter-driving-in-the-new-2021-ford-bronco/

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[Macjr]

First and foremost will be snow tires or at least a severe snow rated tire. I have a BD 4 door w SAS and I was pleased on how in performed last year in a Northern NY winter. I just got my 2 door base w a manual and I will definitely be upgrading the tires to a severe snow rated tire if not a dedicated snow tire.
ive lived here my whole life and all my daily drivers have had dedicated snow tires and imho nothing beats a dedicated snow tire setup.
**neither of the Broncos are my daily driver but if so I’d probably go 5 months w a dedicated snow tire setup.

 

[Brockdog12]

I drove my ‘89 for years on snow and ice and never had any problems. It did great in sand too.

 

[swooshdave]

Just get some good tires and you'll be fine. Even the stripper base is more capable than 95% of the rigs driving on the snow.

 

[Dingbat]

Until it’s deep enough that you’re floating on the floor boards, good snow tires and finesse on the pedals/steering wheel will do more for you in the snow than anything else.

 

[MNSnowGoer]

Just wanted to add that I have the BD with the General Grabber AT's and I was concerned about the snow also. We've gotten some though and the Bronco is plenty capable with those tires. Slippery mode with 4a is what makes it. It smoothes out the shifts and softens the throttle response. It's good at stopping on ice also. Not Blizzack good, but better than my old Nissan Leaf on all seasons.
On another note, if you punch it in the slippery stuff it still goes like crazy, and just gets a little sideways. Seems to have good stability control.
I'm really impressed so far. We'll see what happens when we go from 20 degrees to -20 degrees.

 

[DocBroncoMcLovin]

Also curious if snow tires are a necessity vs the AT tires. Live in Cleveland

 

[Gnomad]

Winter has arrived right about the same time the Bronco base did. I've been trying too research how well the slippery goat mode works regarding the stability control, traction control and does is "lock" the differential using the brakes like my LR3 did? That was a beast in the snow, with open diffs.
I was initially going to swap out the stock Dueler HT685's on my base but may give them a try in the snow. They aren't a full winter tire but the tread looks decent, I'm not expecting Blizzak or Ipike (better than Blizzak if you can fine them) performce but I think they'll be OK.

 

[JT58Bronc]

When I lived in New England most of my life, most of my trucks and 4WD's had open differentials. Never once had a problem. Just have some good all season or all terrain tires on it. Lockers or limited slip do help. My best 4WD vehicle was a 2005 Jeep Wrangler Rocky Mount. It had a Dana 44 with locking rear axle. We had a bad blizzard once, got over a foot and a half of snow over ice. The Jeep got me to work and home just like it was a sunny day. I disengaged 4WD for a portion of the ride and just let it get propelled by the rear axle locked. It just pushed through the snow just fine in 2WD- amazed me. It has a 32" all terrain tires on it. So Lockers do help but you don't need them for snow on plain roads.

 

[Rick U]

I was under the impression that using lockers on a slippery road was a mistake. Putting the Bronco on “slippery mode” does not lock the differential, does it?

 

[Kdk12]

Also curious if snow tires are a necessity vs the AT tires. Live in Cleveland

Last year in Cleveland with the stock non sas big bend tires mine was amazing in the snow. Kept her in 4h in the slop and big drifts, tried 4l on some huge drifts and piles, much fun. Tried to get stuck, it wouldn't even consider it.

 

[Eroc88]

Also curious if snow tires are a necessity vs the AT tires. Live in Cleveland

Snow tires will out perform any AT tire in the snow. I as well live in the cleveland area this will be my first snow without running snow tires. Wanna see how the stock KO2 tires on my badlands will perform.

 

[Bruno]

I was under the impression that using lockers on a slippery road was a mistake. Putting the Bronco on “slippery mode” does not lock the differential, does it?

GOOD QUESTION - well, Slippery Mode is offered in Non-SaS - RIght???

 

[l88m22vette]

Snow tires will out perform any AT tire in the snow. I as well live in the cleveland area this will be my first snow without running snow tires. Wanna see how the stock KO2 tires on my badlands will perform.

Same, they're predicting a tougher winter for Chicago, but the first snow the past few days melted and it'll be 50 within a week. That's good, I still need flaps.

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